Chapter 516 - Strange Illusory Beast (2/2)

Only then did the several hundred newcomers enter the stone chamber in succession. Xiao Chen joined them. This was good too, he thought. He could test his capabilities and find out where he stood amongst the other disciples in the Cloud Mist Academy.

The moment he entered the stone chamber, he felt as if he was transported to another dimension. His surroundings gradually lit up until he saw a large Illusory Beast tens of feet away from him, snoring thunderously as it slept. It drooled from the corner of its mouth, pooling water on the ground.

What Xiao Chen must do now was waking up this beast. If he couldn’t even beat this beast enough to awaken it, he might as well give up the test. And if he could kill this beast with a single strike, that would mean that he needed to fight against a stronger beast.

He clenched his fingers and then stepped into the area past the red line on the ground. He took a deep breath, summoned the Qi in his Elixir Field, and struck the Illusory Beast with his palm. His palm energy instantly formed the illusion of a golden palm in the air and produced a loud explosion. The entire stone chamber seemed to shudder from the impact. However, the beast had merely moved a little. It was still snoring loudly. It didn’t even open its eyes.

Xiao Chen stood there, stunned. Was, was he this bad?

Of course, the stone chamber would automatically determine one’s cultivation. Xiao Chen’s Nirvana Realm cultivation meant that he was assigned to an Illusory Beast much stronger than what Nascent Soul Realm and Core Forming Realm cultivators got. However, the test was ultimately fair and equal.

“Again!”

He took a deep breath, gathered his Qi, and cycled it throughout his body nine times. This time, he thrust both palms, producing two golden illusory dragons. A deafening explosion ensued, but all it did was make the beast look around in confusion, saliva still dripping from the corner of its mouth, and lie down to sleep again. It didn’t notice Xiao Chen at all.

“Is, is that thing… looking down on me?”

Xiao Chen summoned his Qi to start again. He couldn’t use his Immolation Spell of the Three Elements here. It must be one of the mysteries of the stone chamber to prevent any form of cheating.

“KABOOM!”

Another loud explosion shook the space, waking up the Illusory Beast again. This time, it finally noticed Xiao Chen. The series of movements it did next, however, was beyond Xiao Chen’s expectations. He watched as the beast clasped its belly with one hand, hammered the ground with the other, and finally laughed as it pointed at him. The beast was mocking him!

“Is, is this beast… an intelligent beast? Is it mad?”

Xiao Chen stared blankly at the beast that couldn’t stop laughing. It reminded him of how the Leopard Cat Spirit had jeered at him back in the Miasma Mountain Range. To think this beast possessed the intelligence of a human!

“Again! I swear I’m going to succeed!”

Xiao Chen once again summoned his True Energy and went all-out this time. The entire stone chamber seemed to be shaking from the surge of the violent burst of Mystic Power. He thrust his palms, producing two golden illusory dragons strong enough to instantly kill a peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

“KABOOM!”

Another loud explosion sent the entire stone chamber quaking. However, the beast never even took a step back in retreat. It placed a hand next to its mouth, the other under its eye, and poked its tongue out at Xiao Chen. “Bleeek…”

“You, you…”

Xiao Chen couldn’t believe it. Did, did this Illusory Beast truly gain intelligence? Most importantly, it was much stronger than the Illusory Beasts he had encountered so far.

After a succession of seven or eight attacks, he finally gave up. He couldn’t move the beast at all. Still, the results of his Mystic Power test were transmitted out of the stone chamber all the same.

Suddenly, he saw the beast shrinking into a smaller version of itself and ran up to him to pat his head. The beast shook its head while making faces at him, as if it was saying, “Don’t let this dampen your spirits. Try again next time.”

This beast, so full of spiritual nature and wisdom, knocked him speechless. Still, upon closer inspection, the beast was fair and fat. It was quite adorable. He laughed and said, “Forget it. Hey, brother, I have to leave now. I won’t be playing with you anymore.”

“Boohoohoo…” The Illusory Beast’s wide eyes blinked. It looked quite reluctant to part with him.

Xiao Chen turned around and left the red-lined area. Instantly, he found himself back inside the true stone chamber. The old man he saw earlier, Elder Wu, was sitting at a table and peeling a banana.

Elder Wu noticed his dejected expression and asked, “How did it go? Do you feel like you’re very weak?”

Xiao Chen didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. “Um, Elder Wu, are all the Illusory Beasts here that strange?”

“What’s so strange about them? The beasts are all made from illusion spells. They have neither life nor thoughts. They don’t move either. They’re purely there to bear attacks and test students,” Elder Wu said nonchalantly.

“Then, then, why did the beast I saw laugh at me? It was mocking me too! In the end, it even ran up to comfort me!”

“What?!” Elder Wu’s expression changed. The sudden tightening of his grip caused the banana to fly out of his hand.